My daughter was laid off from her position with a company that did a huge downsizing a little over two years ago. With the flagging economy and working at a company that owed millions in loans they had to learn to be a leaner, more efficient company.
At the time she was devastated. She was angry, resentful, and a little lost, as she had no idea what her next steps would be. She applied for jobs but the reality was that so many companies were downsizing that there weren’t many jobs to apply for. She was looking for Admin, PR, Marketing jobs and finding nothing. Even with a bachelor’s degree. And the jobs that were hiring weren’t paying anywhere near what she had previously earned.
She floundered around for approximately a year swimming in her resentment. And after much soul searching came to the realization that she really didn’t want to work in an office environment any longer. 10 years earlier in college she had always toyed with the idea of becoming a teacher. But had decided she enjoyed writing much more and so got her degree in journalism/public relations instead.
She made the brave decision to go back to school and get a degree in Early Elementary Education with the intent of getting her teaching certificate. She was excited about life again. She felt like she was on the right path and doing what she was meant to do.
Starting school again was a challenge. Things had changed in the academic world. Everything was online now. Lots of reading and emailing. She felt somewhat overwhelmed but took it all in stride as she knew she had found her calling.
During this time her grandmother, my stepmom, passed away. They had always been close so this hurt her very badly. Then bam, life came knocking again! Her fiancé decided three months before their wedding to call it off after 10 years together. Here she was living on student loans, working hard to change her life, and now she was going to do another 180-degree turn in a different path.
She moved to a new apartment, found a Para-educator job teaching kindergarten to supplement her income, and started a path to a new life. Yes, she was depressed. Yes, her life ended up so completely different from the map she had made for herself. But it’s funny about life. Just as things could have been at their lowest for her the best things happened. She had to open up space in her life for the new good things to come.
She started her new direction. Her new life. She is currently waiting to enter UW Bothell to continue her quest for her Post-Bach Certificate in Teaching. She has many options open to her in her future. A bright shiny new life. I admire her beyond words. She has a plan. She has a path. She understands that through suffering loss she found a greater joy. She has the whole world open to her and she has done it with grace and perseverance. I am so proud of my beautiful courageous daughter. She is joyliciously my heart!
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